The leader of the Official Opposition challenged Wildrose members attending last week's fundraiser in Innisfail to support a more inclusive platform and help select top-notch candidates before the next provincial election.
Danielle Smith's party had seemed poised to run away with last April's election. Reaction to the party's strong social conservative stance grew in the wake of several high profile gaffes in the dying days of the campaign and the party has struggled to gain provincial mindshare ever since.
ìI think we learned a few lessons from the campaign, particularly in the last 10 days,î Smith said, in her opening speech Feb. 6 at the Innisfail Legion. ìI would just ask that you give some consideration as we're going through the policy process: give me a policy platform that we can run on and win.î
The $50-a-head evening wine and cheese fundraiser included speeches by MLA Kerry Towle and Smith before the floor was opened to questions from the audience.
To many locals the format reminded them of the grassroots elements that made them fall in love with the party in the first place. For Smith the event was an opportunity to hammer home the importance of constructing a ìbig tentî conservative brand that could ultimately unseat the reigning PC dynasty.
ìI think that people recognize that you have to run on a policy platform built on ideas of consensus,î she said, in an interview with the Province. ìIf you build a policy platform based on divisive issues you're not going to be able to develop a coalition that can win. I think that Albertans want a party that is going to be a party in waiting.î
Leger Marketing found Wildrose support had dipped to 28 per cent in a January 2013 survey, down from the 34 per cent of votes garnered last spring.
Smith says she's not phased by the numbers, stressing the party still has to go through a makeover.
ìI'm comfortable with where we're at right now,î she said. ìThe election's not tomorrow. The election's three years from now. There's a lot of work that we have to do as a party.î
At the Wildrose annual general meeting in November Smith talked about refining policies to make sure they're ìreflectingî the modern Alberta, particularly in the areas of diversity and sexual identity.
She says she's confident more traditional-minded core Wildrose boosters in places like Innisfail will be open to the change.
These supporters packed the parking lot with heavy-duty pickup trucks adorned with accessories like bumper stickers that read ìTHE EARTH IS COOLINGî and ìDON'T BLAME ME I VOTED WILDROSEî alongside industrial refuelling pumps.
Smith praised the work of local MLA Kerry Towle and railed against Premier Alison Redford's handling of the emergency services file, contract negotiations with doctors and questionable political donations. She also accused the PC leader of campaigning on rural issues only to turn her back on the same concerns.
ìI think there's a little bit of buyer's remorse going on,î Smith said. ìShe promised considered debate. I've never seen such a whipped caucus.î
Melissa Werkema, 26, heard about the event on Facebook and was excited to meet the Opposition leader face to face.
ìI'm proud of Danielle that she stood up for Albertans and she's not scared,î she said. ìIt's time for a change in spending. We need to get rid of the debt.î
Bob Wilkins, 70, said he appreciated how the event engaged the local audience.
ìWhat the Wildrose is trying to do is get grassroots feedback,î he said. ìWe've got real problems.î
Peter Herman, 70, said he used to vote PC but started to feel like the party had become more distant.
ìI've been a fan of Danielle Smith since I first heard of her,î he said. ìShe shoots from the hip.î
Smith says the oil and gas industry is a significant part of her vision for Alberta's future and criticized the Conservatives for shaking up the royalty regime, instead of embarking on new pipeline projects earlier.
ìEnergy is the lifeblood of our economy and it is going to be that way for the foreseeable future,î she said, adding that poor planning got us into the current fiscal mess. ìI think the government began to rely on having double digit gas prices, and then shale gas ñ the first revolution ñ ended up causing gas prices to go down to two to three dollars. Now with the potential revolution in shale oil technology I don't know that we've seen the full impact of that yet.î
Don Martin, a 33-year-old business owner, said he likes Smith's focus on balancing the budget and adds change must extend to the party itself.
ìThe Wildrose base learned a really good lesson in the last election,î he said. ìThe average conservative is fiscally more conservative but morally more libertarian.
ìIt's the idea that people's personal beliefs really need to be people's personal beliefs.î
